Navy Takes Aim at NCAA Championship
• Five members of the Navy wrestling team will begin their quest for a national title on Thursday when they make the journey to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the 89th NCAA Wrestling Championship held at PPG Paints Arena. The tournament is set to begin at 12:00 pm on Thursday with afternoon and evening sessions slated for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
• Representing Navy are three-time NCAA qualifiers Nicholas Gil (Jr / Crystal Lake, Ill..) at 141 pounds, Jared Prince (So / Safety Harbor, Fla.) at 149, along with 165-pound Tanner Skidgel (So / Tulsa, Okla.), 174-pound Spencer Carey (Jr / Ringwood, N.J.) and 197-pound Joshua Roetman (Jr / Kotzebue, Alaska) who will make their debut at the national tournament.
• All five of Navy's qualifiers earned automatic berths to the NCAA Championship by way of their finish in their respective weight classes at the 2019 EIWA Championship held at Binghamton's Events Center in Vestal, N.Y., on March 8-9.

Thursday, March 21 (ET)
12:00 pm - First Session (ESPNU / ESPN3)
    • Pigtails, Round of 32
7:00 pm - Second Session (ESPN / ESPN3)
    • Round of 16, Wrestleback Prelims

Friday, March 22 (ET)
11:00 am - Third Session (ESPNU / ESPN3)
    • Quarterfinals, Wrestleback Second & Third Rds.
8:00 pm - Fourth Session (ESPN / ESPN3)
    • Semifinals, Wrestleback Fourth & Fifth Rds.

Saturday, March 23 (ET)
11:00 am - Fifth Session (ESPNU / ESPN3)
    • Wrestleback Semifinals, Medal Rounds (3rd/5th/7th)
7:00 pm - Sixth Session (ESPN / ESPN3)
    • Championship Finals

Multimedia Links
Live Brackets: Trackwrestling
Live Video:
Thursday: Session 1 I  |  Session 2
Friday: Session 3 | Session 4
Saturday: Session 5 | Session 6

Navy's NCAA History
• This is Navy's 71st NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth under head coach Joel Sharratt.
• At least one Navy wrestler has participated in the NCAA Championship in each of the last 23 years.
• Navy has placed among the top 25 in four of the last 12 NCAA Championships, including back-to-back 18th-place finishes in 2007 and '08 which is its best placement since 1990 when Navy finished 13th. The Mids tied for 36th at last year's championship.
• The program's best showing in NCAA Tournament action was a fourth-place finish in 1954.
• Navy has won three individual national titles, by two men - Pete Blair won the 191-pound title in 1954 and '55, while Dan Muthler earned the crown in 1973 at 142 pounds.  
• In addition to winning three individual titles, 62 All-America citations have been awarded to Navy wrestlers over the years. Navy's last All-American was Mathew Miller, who earned All-America honors in 2016 after placing fifth at 184 pounds.

Other News And Notes
• Sophomore Tanner Skidgel claimed the 165-pound EIWA Championship crown as the #3 seed. He is the first Navy wrestler to capture an EIWA title since Peyton Walsh (165) and Jadaen Bernstein (174) did it in 2015.
• Team captain Nicholas Gil enters the tournament with a 106-39 career record. He is tied with Ed Prendergast (2005-08) for 12th on the Mids' all-time wins leader board. Gil needs 2 wins to tie Peyton Walsh (2012-15) for 11th. Schott Schleicher (1987-90) stands 10th with 111 wins.
• Gil is just 2 wins shy of reaching 30 for a second straight season. Should he reach 30 wins, he would be just the 15th wrestler in school history to win 30 or more matches twice during his career.
• Gil's 28 wins this season are tied as the fifth most in program history for a 141-pounder. Mark Conley owns three of the top four marks (44 in 2001-02, 34 in 2000-01 and 30 in 1999-00), while Gil's mark of 32 wins stands as the third most. Gil is currently tied with Brad Canterbury (2006-07) for the fifth-most wins (28).